Final Fantasy VII Remake: A Tale Of Midgar Book I

by Arch-Daishou00

Destiny... A set course is not meant to be changed. A path is already written and set in stone. Aerith had long thought that was true. Till he appeared by the whims of the prince of madness, and it all had begun to change. Now an heir of Rama stands upon Gaia's soil. Nothing will ever be the same again... As the goddess of harmony, designed.

7. Truths

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy VII Remake

Co-Author and Beta: Godospartan the kitsune

Chapter 7: Truths

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto leaned back against one of the church pews he sat on with Aerith beside him. His eyes gazed in no discernible direction while his brunette comrade stared at her cupped hands resting on her lap. Not long after Noah had taken Reno and Rude back to Shinra, Aerith came clean about her relationship with Shinra.

Along with her lineage as an Ancient.

Overall the explanation took at least an hour, with the Uzumaki taking in every detail his friend gave. As she had finished, both now sat quietly; Aerith shifted her eyes, observing the blond processing everything she told him.

"So the Cetra ruled Gaia way back when?" Finally, he questioned out loud.

"We didn't rule anyone. All the races co-existed peacefully. Till the calamity two thousand years ago." Aerith's voice grew quiet for a moment before speaking again, "I don't know what happened to the rest of them, but it hit mine the hardest."

A brow cocked from the sage, glancing at the girl; "Are you the last one?"

He only got a shrug; "I've never gotten a straight answer from the planet."

With those words, Naruto partially squinted; "How exactly do you speak with the planet anyway?"

"Speaking is not the best way to describe it. The Lifestream doesn't have a literal voice, and rather it conveys emotions." At least that was the best way she could explain it adequately. "It's empathic if that makes any sense to you?"

The blond gave a slow nod; "I get what you're saying." Kind of like Karin's empathic nature but on a grander scale. "And you were found and adopted by Elmyra after your mother died."

"Yup," Aerith quipped solemnly, "I can still feel my mother around me, at least here in this church."

"...And your dad?"

"Hojo killed him days after I was born and took mother and me to Shinra. She told me stories about him, though, Professor Gast Faremis. Mother said he was a brilliant scientist who used to work for Shinra. But left as he grew sick of the unethical experiments the company was allowing to be done."

Naruto gave his friend a look; "Considering Shinra took your parents and childhood, I'd figure you would be bent about it."

That comment earned a sharp gaze from the florist; "Not every person in Shinra is evil. That includes the Turks."

Her stance was firm on that matter; "Tseng and them would never hurt you? Try to force you back?"

"Tseng and the other Turks would never hurt me. And the president wants me to return willingly."

"You get the feeling that came with convincing from Tseng?" Kurama quipped dryly.

'I'd bet a hundred Gil on it,' The blond had a strong suspicion that the ruler of Gaia cared very little about others. "And why is Shinra so obsessed about your people?"

Aerith rose from the pew with her back turned to her friend; "We who are born of the planet, with her we speak. Her flesh we shape. Unto her promised land shall we one day return. By her loving grace and providence, may we take our place in paradise." She spun on her heels at the sight of the confusion on his face; "It's an old poem from my people. Shinra had discovered it in one of our ruined temples. `The Promised Land' to Shinra believes it is an undiscovered land with endless mako."

"It's not, is it," His words are more a statement than a question.

"Nope," The brunette swayed her head with her arms behind her back, "But there is no way to convince Shinra otherwise. They are adamant in finding the promised land and won't rest till they do."

A low groan came from the man as he rose from to his feet while rubbing his chin; "Well, shit…".

Amusement danced on the young woman's face; "Was that your full opinion on everything you just heard?" Her body faintly swayed as she peered down to the ground; "Does it bother you?"

"About what?"

"That I'm only half-human? I mean, we Cetra look human, but we are very different from you."

At that, a dismissive snort came from Naruto; "Doesn't matter what a person is." Hell, he was one-fourth dragon. "A good person is a good person regardless of race."

Aerith's lips curled into a small genuine smile.

Deciding on changing the subject out of curiosity, "So, what all can Cetra do. Outside of speaking with the planet."

The brunette perked up; "Well, we are very proficient at magic to the point we don't need materia. But I use it cause it is just easier for me, but I can do a few things without them." She began to walk around the flowerbed. "I can see, hear, and speak with spirits who haven't returned to the planet."

"That includes your mother?"

"Cetra spirits are different than humans given our heritage and abilities." Then, putting her hands behind her back as she kept a slow pace with amusement on her lips, "ever heard of clairvoyance?" She stopped in front of the blond, looking up.

"The seer's sight," Naruto quipped evenly.

Aerith clicked her tongue with a wink; "Bingo!"

"Know a few folks like that." A snort came from the young sage.

"Like Shion?"

At that, the blond chuckled; "Yeah, she-" The blond froze as his mind registered the name that Aerith should NOT know of. Then, almost robotically, the blond's now widened eyes were entirely on the brunette.

Said woman gave an apologetic expression; "Another little gift we have." She gazed towards the ground; "I didn't mean to pry, but the planet kept calling you 'Outlander,' and I was too curious." She turned her emeralds back to his cerulean; "I know, you don't have amnesia." But that statement held more meaning than she spoke.

Naruto stood stock still. For a full minute, he could not speak, but Aerith waited patiently for him to find his voice. "Y-you know..."

"Konohagakure no Sato... Uzushiogakure..."

Her uttering those names sent a shock to his very core. In an instant, his hands rested upon her shoulders; "Do you know-"

Almost immediately, she shook her head; "I don't know if there is any way to send you back home." Her voice was a remorseful whisper. To see the sorrow bloom in his eyes tugged at her heart as his arms dropped to his sides before slumping down onto the pew behind him. "I'm sorry."

The blond rubbed his hands over his face before looking to her; "You got nothing to apologize for."

"Still, it was rude of me to just peak at your thoughts and memories all willy nilly." Aerith came to sit down beside her friend.

Naruto waved a dismissive hand before thinking, "Anyone else knows?" his question was met with a dry deadpan from the young woman; "So no…."

"Who exactly would believe that you came from another dimension?"

Well, that was a fair point…

"So," The ponytailed blond glanced to his friend, "If you saw what's in my head. You saw-"

"Kurama," Aerith finished with a nod. Upon his name being spoken, the said Bijuu appeared in front of them, sitting on his hind end and being about the size of a Wayward Wolf, his nine tails swaying about lazily. His crimson orbs gazed with curiosity at Aerith.

The said brunette looked back with equal curiosity and delight; "Nice to finally meet you when awake."

A grunt came from the Kitsune Bijuu; "The only way I wouldn't have noticed you peeking in blondie's cranium."

"To be fair, you looked just as exhausted as he was when he collapsed here a month ago."

"True enough," Kurama grumbled; "Peek into my head?"

Aerith's head swayed from side to side; "I didn't want to tempt fate, and you try to eat me since we were strangers back then."

"Smarter than that, Yamanaka friend of yours, brat."

His partner rolled his eyes; "Well, you were still a giant surly asshole back then."

Kurama looked offended; "I'm still a surly asshole thank you."

A giggle came from the resident florist observing the two bicker garnering their attention; "I'm just glad your not the asshole you used to be." Kurama only rolled his eyes while a snort came from Naruto.

Letting out an explosive breath before shaking his head, he turned his eyes to Aerith; "Should I expect more company from the Turks?"

"I don't know…." She gave a hapless shrug; "Shinra might back off for a bit since you took out Tseng, Cissnei, and Legend." The brunette tapped her chin in thought; "Or-"

"Might escalate and send SOLDIER after me." He looked to Kurama, "Especially since they saw his power at the Cup."

Concern bloomed on the brunette's face; "If anything Hojo might send something."

After a few moments of thought, Kurama looked to his friend. "Go underground, or preemptive strike? Because we both know we've been brought into, and stepped into willingly at this point, a potential battle against enormous forces."

With a look to the Ancient, Naruto hummed out aloud. "Any way we can find out their next move without getting near them? Being on the radar does not give a Shinobi a chance at stealth. They'll have figured out how to track me the moment I get within ten feet of any of their facilities."

"I wouldn't recommend that," Aerith quipped back with urgency; "I know you are an expert at stealth, but Shinra will know if something up if you get near their places." She paused; "Why would you go near them?"

"Know thy enemy," Naruto explained in complete seriousness, "If these guys will be coming for me. I better know who the hell I'm dealing with. And since Shinra rules the damn world, the more information about them, the better for me."

The brunette's brow furrowed in thought; "Shinra Headquarters at the center of Midgar. But that place is a complete fortress." From their army, mechs, Turks, and SOLDIER. Not even Avalanche or Wutai ever attempted to go near that building.

"We know. It'll have to be." Naruto said thoughtfully.

As they thought about it, the flower girl took a breath. "You won't make it, not through the entire facility. Their defenses, their mechs, the SOLDIERs they have on standby, going alone will be game over. And neither of us wants to be caught up in Hojo's plans. So sitting back to find another way would be the better option."

"Then we play defense," Kurama spoke up.

"Sounds the best bet," Naruto agreed as much as he did not want to. Shinra was not some random warlord, rogue shinobi nation, little tyrannical empire. Shinra ruled 'ALL' of Gaia outside of the island nation of Wutai. Their claws were in every inch of this whole damn planet. Taking on such a globally influential organization alone would be suicidal.

And using Kurama's power would lead to massive collateral damage. The kind that would cause innocent bystanders' lives. A fully powered Bijuudama would level several plates alone beside Shinra HQ and parts of the undercity. And the blond refused to drag innocent people into this mess. "Need to set up some Seals around this place and sector five." Along with getting creative with his shadow clones.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

On his bed, Reno was wincing, being chewed out and hard, by his comrade and friend and team lead until the real head of the Turks was on his feet. "IDIOTS! He took on the top three of us and BARELY used that mysterious power of his! What hope did either of you two knuckleheads have of even getting a hit in!" Cissnei dropped her usual calm demeanor for apparent reasons.

As much as it did tempt fate for another screeching earful, Rude did give a little pride in his abilities. "I did manage to get one in, though."

"ONE!... Out of the beating you both got!" Noah was thankfully by the door with earphones listening to blasting music, and the wincing was renewed.

In a private room of the medical wing of Shinra HQ, Maur and Judet groaned in unison beside Tseng, who was still recovering. The dark-haired leader raised a brow. He heard Cissnei go on a verbal tirade on Reno and Rude. "At least they are alive," the head of the Turks quipped dryly.

"They were lucky, boss," The former detective remarked, leaning against the wall beside Judet, who sat on a chair. "If Uzumaki took them seriously, they'd be in body bags."

Judet glanced at him; "Assuming Uzumaki would go that far."

Tseng leaned back against his bed; "I'd rather not provoke him further than we already have. He will be keeping his eyes sharp for any of us from now on."

With a loud annoyed huff strolled in Cissnei; "There are days I cannot believe how stupid those two can be." She plopped herself down roughly on a chair with a leg crossed along with her arms.

The faintest of smirks came from Tseng; "You were concerned for them."

"I was concerned about how much paperwork I would have to do if they got killed."

"Still, we are a team. We look out for one another." Sighing heavily, the leader kept himself from moving too much. However, he had to sit up a little now, with a groan. "How's the President taking things?"

"As expected... maybe a little better than he should." Rethinking how things went, Cissnei was unsure what else to tell. "I have a funny feeling he might give full control of what happens to that ninja over to Hojo the moment there's even a speck of planning involved with a dangerous item powerful enough to do anything against him."

A dire outcome the man anticipated had the mission gone south. Sending a SOLDIER would be too flashy and draw attention. But one of Hojo's numerous twisted grotesqueries would be viewed as a simple monster on the loose.

No one would know the difference.

And outside of Executive Reeve, the president and higher-ups care very little about those living in the undercity. "Just one of Hojo's nightmare experiments is dumped into the undercity, and the casualties will be off the charts."

"I know," Cissnei responded with concern.

Judet and Maur looked on with equal worry, "Even we can't stop some of those things that lunatic has in his lab." The large man interjected.

After a moment, Tseng did have a thought. "As long as he stays near Aerith, that ninja has a safety net. Hojo wouldn't dare to cause any trouble for her, so if the potential for her getting caught in the crossfire is there, he won't move."

Which meant things were going to play out in a way none of them would be able to think of. And that scared them even more.

Judet crossed her arms with a frown; "Sure, Hojo won't send a monster barreling into sector five undercity. But He will likely keep an eye open when the blond isn't around Aerith. And then..."

"...Chaos," Tseng finished closing his eyes as his mind gathered his thoughts.

Cissnei kept her eyes on her boss; "We should warn Uzumaki."

"Oh, yeah. Warn the guy we try to kidnap," Maur groaned, rubbing his brow; "I doubt he wants to hear anything we'd have to say, boss lady."

"No, Cissnei is right," Tseng interjected; "Whether he believes us will be on him. But he needs to know what is going on. And be ready for anything Hojo decides to send down there."

Noah had followed quietly while at the door and had listened with one of his headphones out. He had his input. "He's been attacked way too many times, and if we just head out again, not only do we seem more hostile, but the president might see this as an act of rebellion on our part. Getting near him is almost as hard as getting to Aerith without Hojo's permission. Even if he met up with someone who hasn't attacked him yet, we'd need a reason."

He had a point. But Cissnei huffed a lot more. "We need something... Someone to get the message out then."

"Given his inclination for taking the reins in times of need..." the bigger man hummed. "It's possible he'll do some investigating himself... Maybe we wait for him to visit us instead..."

That was a sound strategy Tseng mentally mused. He only prayed if such an encounter occurs, it won't turn into a brawl.

XxX ~ two weeks later ~ XxX

A bead of sweat dripped off Tifa's brow. Her chest heaved wildly as perspiration glowed from her form while her eyes showed wariness but determination while in a combat stance. A few feet in front of her stood her sparring partner, who was barely winded and ready to continue.

"You guys got this!" Close by, Aerith cheered on with little Marlene on her lap.

Gaining her oxygen levels back to normal, the brawling fighter clenched her fists and gave it another go. Stepping in, and sent a fist right for the chest of the shinobi in front of her. What USED to be someone in front of her, as he side-stepped and was instantly behind her just from a bit of twirling.

Thankfully, she learned not to let herself be stunned by such an attack and launched herself into a forward flip, sending a rising heel to meet him. He deftly slipped back to keep it at a safe distance, however.

Landing in a crouch, Tifa swung both legs around and twirled on her hands, sending snap kicked with every turning palm on the ground to get closer to him, all being blocked as he stepped back with every forward swing.

Watching every move, the blonde was smiling. Seeing her speed and control rising to new levels every spar, and this was nothing new. But, though the movements were, she was starting to get the handle of keeping her back protected even without sight.

What surprised him was, as he watched her end her flurry of spinning handstand kicks, she rose her legs up with her back facing him and started swinging them to the ground to gain footing. But at the same time, she bent her arms down, and as her legs got close, she shoved her upper body into the air. Then, with her legs hitting the ground, she kicked herself forward and, with her still swinging back leg, launched a heel kick into his chest, finally connecting and launching him back about ten feet as she flipped full force again after that back on her feet and into stance.

Naruto's own feet hit the ground, and he skids another couple feet before stopping, holding his chest. "Alright, that one was new..."

The blond had to wonder if that old sensei of Tifa's saw it as he does. The buxom barkeep was a speedy study when it came to combat. She picked up on the tiniest details from a punch, kick, or more complex moves. Her mind was as sharp as her eyes while sparring with the Uzumaki.

"She might close that gap between you two faster than you think," Kurama chimed in with mild interest.

'Still, a long way to go.' Naruto quipped back; "Mind if I pick up the pace?"

Tifa let out a long huffed but sported a competitive smile; "Show me what you got!"

Rolling a shoulder to relax his arm, he got ready. "Just try and stop me." He vanished instantly from sight, for the quickest blink of an eye, before he was in front of her in the very same way he was prior as if he teleported. Of course, he didn't, but it did make her jump back. Bad idea...

As she did, he swept her legs from under her mid-air jump, causing her to fly back and having to catch herself on the ground with her arms. Getting back on her feet, though, she guarded against the straight fist to her chest, causing her to skid around a bit. Unfortunately, it didn't help as he grabbed her arms and twisted them down, making her take a knee before he kicked her shoulder and launched her back against the ground again.

Kicking herself up, the brawler girl had little time to think before the next strike came for her. With instinct as her only savior, she twisted out of the way of a high kick and ducked around under the falling ax kick right after. This movement saved her from being hit right then, but the spin had her eyes off the blonde enough for him to shove her back.

As she started to fall, Naruto grabbed her arm, brought her back up, and tossed her over his shoulder, making her flip and land on her back. As she gasped from the impact, he stood over her. "You alright?"

Aerith winced; "Looked like that was painful." She grunted as Marlene leaped off her lap and ran towards Tifa as fast as little legs let her.

The Uzu sage blinked at the sight of Barret's daughter standing protectively in front of Tifa. "No, hurt Tifa whiskers!" She spoke with her limited vocabulary.

He deadpanned while hearing Kurama chuckle in his mind. Then, sighing, the blond knelt to the little girl, "I'm not hurting her. We're training."

"You know you are trying to explain something to a nearly two-year-old, right," Aerith quipped in amusement.

Rising from the ground, Tifa only grinned, picking up the little girl, "I'm okay, Marlene." Then, she turned her eyes to the tall ponytailed blond; "How about a break?"

"Was about to suggest one anyway. You are skilled but still lack the endurance to fight a battle of attrition. Sorry if that one was a little too harsh. I didn't think you'd hit the ground flat." He had hoped that the rear end was cushioned enough to break the fall a little better.

Still, it seemed she was alright, given the slight throbbing. She gave him no ill looks for it, just a shrug as it attempted to soothe the pain in her back. "Yeah, my mistake there. It doesn't matter how hard you hit some; if, if your entire back takes the impact, it's not good at any level of force. Should have twisted or something." She did smile towards her little protector. "You'll understand one day, Marlene. Don't worry t, and this is normal for fights."

Marlene only blinked with confused big brown eyes. "What's mormal?"

Naruto snorted along with a giggle from the brunette florist who came over; "so how about a snack before round three?"

From the left side of Aerith, she picked up her flower basket, which held several wrapped sandwiches Tifa made for them before they came to the abandoned factory, taking a seat on some benches or a few crates with the brunette handing out the food. The buxom barkeep assisted Marlene with her food while the little girl sat on her lap.

"So you look after munchkin here while Barret works in the Watch?" Naruto questioned before taking a bite of his food.

Tifa gave the nod; "Unless I need to do some of my work on the Watch. Then, Nayo helps." She noticed his confusion; "Friends from the Watch, you don't see her cause she is working in the other sectors most of the time with Zhijie and Billy-Bob."

More names to people Naruto has not yet met but can always get around to it later. "I've talked to the big guy but never asked about him. Where is he from?"

"Corel, it's a mining town near Gold Saucer," Tifa's expression grew distant; "Or was a mining town."

"Was?"

The ravenette shook her head; "Not my place to say."

He could understand that kind of thing. Saw it a lot experienced it a bit. Either way, he left it to ask when he knew the man better. Dropping it, he continued munching away for a moment. "Speaking of the watch." He thought to ask. "Haven't noticed the trio in town for a moment; they get work recently I wasn't aware of?"

"Don't think so, but it can happen. The head of the watch has been asking for more hands-on-deck recently, and maybe they got called in for a small job or two." Tifa answered.

The little girl was giggling as she was given some juice from Tifa. The sage hummed aloud. "Wonder what they'd need doing."

"Wonder if it has anything to do with us and our recent high-impact fights on the already ruined underbelly of this place." His fox friend mentioned.

The resident barkeep stood up as Marlene went running around the adults. "So what kind of flowers are you bringing up next, Aerith? Marlene likes them."

The Cetra tapped her chin playfully in thought; "I could bring some in a few days?"

"It is incredible that you can grow real flowers," Tifa complimented before catching a giggling Marlene and sitting her down on her lap again; "I haven't seen hardly any flowers since coming to the city a few years ago."

Naruto deadpans; "And those Bouquet that Al guy tried to give you a few weeks ago?"

"Al is a good guy, but a real skirt chaser. Can't even remember the names of which one of his 'girlfriend' he was with for a month."

Recognition bloomed on Aerith's face; "That Al guy bought that bouquet from me. Said it's for someone special all the while trying to hit on me" The brunette rolled her eyes; "Cost him fifty Gil."

"He only hit on you to lower the price. That doesn't mean he probably wouldn't hit on you for other reasons either, though." After finishing his snack, Naruto just sat there to relax. "It was funny how his face turned pale a bit when his attempts to flirt the price down was met with a higher fee instead. Not exactly expensive, but it still made him freak out a bit."

The giggling flower girl nodded. "I almost didn't stop my laughter at seeing his jaw drop. I swear he nearly turned into a ghost with how pale he went when I suggested he either take the price or I raised it to ten times the norm."

XxX ~ three days later ~ XxX

Now Naruto was not to shy away from the company of others. On the contrary, he loved being around his Uzu family and friends. Though he had grown to keep professional and personal separate as he grew older. So while patrolling through Scrap Boulevard along with the sector six ruins, he cocked a brow at his self-requested partner for the day. "I know your a big techy and all. But can you fight?"

"I'll have you know, whiskers, I am a pretty decent scrapper," Jessie huffed, crossing her arms under her bust. "Dutch taught me, Biggs, and Wedge, how to fight."

Quickly the blond raised his hands in apology. Both were dressed for potential combat, with the ponytail brunette being adorned in her combat outfit and metal chest plate. He was in his usual black shit with burnt orange pants and sandals for the sage. Over that was his red sleeveless hoari Tsukiko-Baachan made for him with katana in hand.

"Can't say I know how skilled you are yet, but I haven't seen much from either of you. I'd rather not assume one way or another; that's why I even asked. So, anything coming in the area recently?" He did wonder, though, on her skills. He'd find out today possibly.

As she hopped down from the cliff into the dug-out walkways, she looked up at him. "Not that I heard, but the slums can surprise you with random monsters without notice. Guess that makes today our turn to find the first bit of news."

It was only just after dinner as the two made their way through. "That's been true so far..." It was almost too fluid how he stepped down the rocky formations to join her. "What's it like being the technical mind behind the trio of disaster?"

"Well," Jessie swayed her head from side to side. "I've known both of them since we were kids in the slums. Both Biggs and Wedge were orphans, so they lived at the Leaf house. My family lived in the undercity until dad got a Shinra job. Then, we moved to the upper plate of the sector seven employee residential area."

"Bet that was an experience."

The pony-tailed brunette's expression grew distant with melancholy. "Good and bad." She shook away the evil thoughts, "But I never forgot my roots as an undercity girl."

Processing what he just heard, the blond rubbed his chin, "No goals of leaving the city?"

"Wanted to be an actress truthfully," Jessie omitted.

"So to work in movies or television?"

His question was quickly dismissed, "Nothing like that. More of a theater actress." Okay, that was a surprise to Naruto while they traversed the ruins. She continued, "But places in Midgar were small time. So if you wanted to make it big, there was only one place. Gold Saucer."

Naruto's heard that name a few times, "You make it there?"

"I did," she spoke brightly before growing quiet. "But things happened and came back home. Been working in the Watch ever since." Part of her wanted to tell him the whole truth but held her tongue as she wasn't sure how he'd react to knowing what she does for a living. Then, taking a deep breath, she turned her almond-colored eyes to the Uzumaki. "Well, now that you know a bit about me. Care to tell about you whiskers?"

'You get the feeling there is more to that than what she said?'

Kurama snorted, "Does Kuma shit in the woods?"

The blond scratched his ponytail, "Not much to tell given my noggin's condition."

"Oh, don't give me that. You least have to remember your family." She drew close to his side.

Suppose he could say some things. For example, "My parents died not long after I was born. Was an orphan like Biggs and Wedge till meeting my cousin Karin when I was twelve." He never would forget that day, "Uzumaki is the name of my mother's clan. Found that out when learning about my family history. Not long after, I met quite a few more Uzu relatives."

Jessie raised a brow, "Wouldn't you be named after your father's surname?"

"Namikaze is a nomadic clan with no actual standing or status. The Uzumaki, however, is and has been around for several centuries." Thousands of years in truth, but he kept that to himself.

As they entered the next area around the ruins of Sector Six, the flirty woman hummed in thought. "So, surnames are different in ninja villages? It's empirical or something? So if my name ever came up, and it was without power, I'd have to use my partners?"

Naruto cocked his head in thought, "If you married into an old clan, yes." His brow rose as he looked down, noticing Jessie wrapped her arm around his, "Are you comfortable?"

"Strolling through the monster-infested ruins with the hero of the undercity would make any woman swoon. But, to know their life and virtue will be fiercely protected from any dastardly fiend who wants to claim it."

Oh yeah, she is an actress at heart, alright.

Still, two can play this game. "So you have qualms if the mysterious Wutai ninja might claim your virtue for himself?" By the growing smirk on her face, he knew the flirt game was officially on.

"Would you have any qualms if a strong-willed woman would give that claim to you? I suppose being a Ninja makes you hardly approachable usually, but that could always be overlooked by the hunk-like figure you have, the heart of a kind but passionate fighter, and the wits to match." Saying to him as she was trying to press her body into his even closer, eyes staring. She was laying it on thick, and it was not unappreciated, to be honest.

Both shared a small conversation while on patrol, which was pleasantly quiet. Jessie reminded the sage so much of Ino's personality and demeanor that it felt like his fellow blond was beside him. But, of course, Jessie was quite a different person compared to the flirty Yamanaka heiress.

"Do you like pizza?"

Jessie's question made the blond cock his brow; "Pizza?" However, his mood soon shifted within a second as he stood stock still with a severe gaze.

Which was taken notice by his companion; "What is it?"

"Trouble."

As soon as he spoke, a shrill of laughter echoes throughout the area; "Well, lookie who we got here, boys!" a man's voice came from everywhere; "The champion of the Corneo cup!"

"Thanks for clearing the ruins for us, Mr. Badass!" Another man's voice rang out. "Now's it's all ours."

A third man let out a deep laugh; "Now we beat up Mr. Badass and be real badasses ourselves!"

"Huh," Jessie and Naruto chorused, blinking.

"Butch, you idiot!" The second man chimed.

"Did I say something wrong, Burke?"

The first man groaned; "Your both dumbasses."

Three figures came out of the shadows dressed in simple clothes with rugged leathers. They all had bandana masks over their bald heads and carried bats in their hands. The tallest of the trio wore a red sleeveless shirt. His amber eyes soon shined towards Jessie; "Oh~, Brought your hottie girlfriend with you, eh?! Think we'll take her."

The sage wondered just how much more idiocy the world could throw at him before he became immune to it, as they were very animated in their walk and strut as if they had any kind of skill to speak of. "Mind not? We're on patrol here, and if you move aside, things won't have to get hairy." He motions to be forward to keep them from getting too close to her regardless.

"What hair?" Jessie snarked a bit at that, considering the trio's lack of it.

The short and stocky with a bit of a belly Butch looks to the tall one; "They making fun of us Beck?" He spoke with a deep dimwitted tone.

"Your girl's got a mouth on her," Beck's eyes gleamed with perves lust. "We'll straighten that out."

Naruto seriously doubted these three would know how to handle Jessie. Let alone her kicking their asses all over the ruins just trying to touch her. By Amaterasu, most of the thugs roaming around here in the undercity were subpar amateurs at best. Maybe one out of dozen has some skill, but that was a stretch even to say.

It's been only two minutes, and he knew these guys were insults to all amateurs on Gaia.

The slinkier one was getting closer on a flanking position. "I know the kind of things a mouth like that might be able to do... I think."

"Moron, you're thinking of that weird nibble stuff on the ear; it's much better somewhere else..." Burke said as he twirled his bat.

The scoff of the Ex-Shinobi rang loudly. "None of you are touching her. Without broken fingers getting involved. She'll be the one breaking those digits anyway, not like I have to lift a finger." He cracked his knuckles menacingly, letting loose some of his aura. "Doesn't mean I won't... You have ten seconds to apologize to her and run, or you become pretzels."

The trio's posturing within an instant cower, yet they still kept their mouths running. "W-w-we ain't scared of some Wutai ninja-man!" Beck meekly bulked while his two goons nodded while their bodies shook in terror.

Naruto's lips turned a predatory smile that made the would-be thugs shiver, "Then take those bats and start swinging, boys."

Their knees were practically knocking against one another, But Beck seemed to swallow his fear as he ran towards the blond. He shrieked like a maniac lifting his bat over his head and bringing it down with all his strength. Jessie blinked as her partner allowed the idiot to strike him against the chest. Though renewed terror glowed on Berk's face as he saw the tall ponytailed blond cock, his head was looking unaffected by the attack.

"That it?"

Jessie snorted and winced as she saw the thug's jeans get darker in the crouch area. Naruto slowly took the bat out of Berk's hands without effort. He inspected the wooden object and looked pretty decent, to his surprise. But, of course, doofus here likely stole it from a kid since these dumbasses were only scary to children.

"Allow me to show you how to use a bat."

Said fellow with pissed pants tried to run, only for his foot to be caught under the blonde man's rather heavy feeling one. His panic increased as he tried pulling his foot free. "Do something, you idiots! Get me out of here, get this guy off me!"

Neither were focused on anything but trying to hide behind one another as they saw their boss trapped, with the fox-like grin of the ninja getting even wider, rearing back with the bat and exaggeratedly rolling the tip a little. "Batter up!"

Turning to face his fate, the only brave one among them to step up to the plate found the chunk of wood slammed so rough into his gut that, as his foot was freed, he was launched into his buddies, and all three rolled on the ground until knocked clean out on their backs and asses.

Naruto looked to the bat and whistled, seeing it was still somehow in one piece. It was practically a miracle. "Alright, whoever first bought this thing had an eye for sturdy."

Well, Finder keepers and all that. Naruto peered over to his female companion, grinning, "Shall we go?"

"Your sexy when being a little vicious," Jessie complimented with a huskier tone to her voice.

XxX ~ the next day ~ XxX

Whistling a tune, Naruto sat in the abandoned church with various tools sprawled around him. Though tending to her flower bed, Aerith peered over to her friend, who was working on repairing some of the broken pews. Beside the brunette sat Kurama being the size of a dog and single tail swaying about.

The Bijuu staring in thought at the flowers, "Just how do flowers grow here and near your home?"

Humming in thought, Aerith considered the answer. "I'd like to say it's because I'm so good with plants... But I doubt you'd accept that answer. Given what kind of being you are, I'm surprised you don't know already."

"Humor me. We've not had the best of luck using our true powers as Sages, so communicating with nature has been... rough." The tail flicked more.

She was not able to word it right in her head but tried. "The church, I feel, has a close link to the energy of the planet, but it's not exactly strong enough to be present. That, and Sector 5 has a lot of sunlight and wind; anyone who has a green thumb could probably get something to grow if they tried hard enough. So the best answer, I think, is that I'm just that special."

Both fox and fox-like ninja looked her way as if asking for real. They were not buying anything that simple.

Then it came to the sage who squinted, "You have no idea, do you?"

"Not a clue," Aerith chirped brightly, earning a deadpan from the duo.

The massive wooden doors soon creaked open as Kurama quickly vanished beside the brunette. She and the blond sharply turned their gazes to see who entered the church. Within seconds the sage promptly rose to his feet at the sight of Tseng making his way inside. "I'm not here for combat, Uzumaki."

"Really?" Naruto quipped with thick skepticism in his tone. He grunted as Aerith was quickly in front of him carrying a stern look; "Seriously?"

"It will be fine," She relented before glancing to the man who's known her since she was little; "Right?"

Tseng nodded; "I only came to warn Uzumaki of Shinra's eventual retaliation."

"You mean something I already had a feeling would happen?" Getting a glare from his companion, the blonde brought his hands up behind his head and shrugged, zipping his lip.

Though their guest was not in disagreement. "Knowing you, you'd have thought of every possible thing from public items of note, and even a slight amount of things only Aertih would be privy to given Hojo's abominations. But, there's even more to this than you know. And worse. What can that madman throw at you? It won't care who gets in the way. And the strength you'll need to take things like that down won't be contained."

His words drew Aerith's attention, "He won't send SOLDIER?"

"You know full well the president won't, Aerith. It would draw unwanted attention. Moreover, SOLDIER members are not the delicate type."

Naruto frowned with a thought, "But nobody bats an eyelash about a monster roaming about."

"I'd figured you would see it as we do," Tseng remarked with respect.

"But I don't get why you're warning me?"

The Turk took a long breath before gazing to the ground, "In truth, I would rather you join us as a Turk. I know full well you are not from Wutai. Their government would never let someone of your caliber leave. Let alone retire." His eyes soon looked into the blond's; "But I know that won't happen now."

"Pretty much," Naruto quipped back. "Your really that sure I'm not Wutaian?" The gaze he received back from the raven-haired man spoke volumes, "Figured your boss be looking where I did come from."

"We are, as you now verified it to me." Tseng stared back curiously. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I am a sage and retired ninja. I never lied about that. But if you are wondering, no. My home is not affiliated with Wutai, nor do they care about either them or Shinra."

Tseng almost gave a smile, if he wasn't always so stoic usually. "Fair enough."

"That conclude the pleasantries?"

"For warning you, yes." He walked closer and looked towards Aerith before returning to the insanely strong fighter. "I ask you to do one thing... Above all else..." And what he did next surprised the trio as the injured man bowed. "Protect Aerith. Whatever collateral damage storms the undercity, Aerith should not be caught up in it."

The sincerity of his words caught the blond off guard. While said woman in question looked offended, "I can take care of myself, you know."

"I don't deny that," The older man commented back. "But there are nightmares in Hojo laboratory I'd rather you never cross paths with." He kept his gaze on Uzumaki, "Can you promise me."

He does care about Aerith. Kurama felt no deceit in the man's heart. A grunt came from the blond as he rubbed a hand through his hair, "I can promise she will never get hurt. But you know her even better than I do on how stubborn she is."

"I'm standing right here, you know."

A small smile graced Tseng's lips, "I know full well." Both men turned their eyes to the brunette, who gave a pouting glare back. "But she is worth protecting." He soon turned his heels to walk away, "I did wish we could have been friends, Naruto. You're a lot like an old friend of mine." He spoke cryptically before leaving them alone.

Once his presence was gone, Kurama reappeared, snorting, "Humans like him are so annoying. He works around evil but has no evil in his heart."

"Excuse me, but I am not a doll to keep pristine!" The pouting Flowergirl and Cetra spoke up once more. Much to the ear cleaning actions of her friend. "You better know if there's a monster; I don't care how big and bad it is; you aren't facing it without me!"

"Aaaand, then when you potentially, here's hoping you don't, perish-" Naruto gave a soft dull look back, knowing full well it didn't matter. He'd have to work thrice as hard to make things go smoothly as can be. "-I have all of Shinra, including all the Turks, after me... and your mom the most dangerous woman besides you I know who'd murder me in the blink of an eye for losing you. So indulge me when I say you aren't priority one in my urgency to call for help list against sudden monstrous outbreaks of the experimental kind. Let's not tempt fate, shall we?"

Oh, he could FEEL the mire of the smirk off the fox with them. "Says the one who tempts it day and night quite often."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX